In the congressional race to replace Nancy Pelosi, one congressional candidate is taking flak from San Francisco politicos after putting frontrunner and state senator Scott Wiener on blast.
Marie Hurabiell, the only candidate who has staked out a meaningfully conservative position on gender ideology, sharply criticized Wiener for his 2022 bill SB 357, which in effect made it impossible for police in the state to charge people for loitering with intent to engage in prostitution. According to Wiener, who is the most prominent gay Democrat in both state and San Francisco politics, this was necessary because police previously unfairly profiled minority, gay, and trans prostitutes.
In attacking the bill, Hurabiell said of Wiener, “Children are being raped multiple times a day, thanks to you. […] Thanks once again for sticking up for criminals instead of victims.” In response, a group of San Francisco politicians released a statement claiming Hurabiell’s remarks were “homophobic.” Mayor Daniel Lurie, who had previously been endorsed by Hurabiell’s political group, ConnectedSF, also referred to her comments as a “hateful message.”
Given San Francisco’s political dynamics, Hurabiell is essentially running as a protest candidate — Wiener is currently the favorite to receive the Democratic nomination for Pelosi’s seat, with former Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti attempting an upset as the Democratic Socialist carpetbagger. Yet even if Hurabiell has no meaningful chance of victory, she is performing a public service by calling out Wiener, who is regularly cast as a moderate despite regularly pushing for culturally radical and pro-crime legislation.
Wiener’s moderate reputation comes from his affiliation with the Yes-in-My-Backyard (YIMBY) pro-housing movement, which is despised by the San Francisco Left. His social worldview, though, would read as leftist parody to the rest of the country. In addition to making life easier for “sex workers” — that is, prostitutes — Wiener also authored legislation that would have legalized “safe injection” drug sites in California, feeding people’s addiction. He also authored successful legislation that made California a transgender “state of refuge” for families seeking “gender-affirming healthcare” for their kids — Orwellian newspeak for sex-change procedures.
Hurabiell, for her part, is a former Republican running as a Democrat, a move that is unfortunately de rigueur in San Francisco politics. She is the only candidate that has questioned gender ideology in the race, having previously tweeted that “Trans women are NOT women.” Although the San Francisco political class has attempted to place such thought outside the realm of acceptable discourse, a non-negligible amount of voters in the city hold this view. For their voice to have a meaningful impact, though, California Republicans and moderate Democrats alike must work to relegate California politicians like Wiener to the fringe of state politics.
